USA survived their first serious test of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, overcoming Australia 98-88 in a tense and enthralling basketball game at Carioca Arena 1 on Wednesday.

In a match-up between two undefeated teams, Australia led by five points at half-time and pushed USA all the way, trailing by as few as five points with 1:20 remaining before the gold medal favourites pulled away.

Carmelo Anthony led all scorers with 31 points, including nine three-pointers, and became USA's all-time scoring leader at the Olympic Games. Patty Mills nearly matched him with with 30 points to lead Australia.

"We kind of expected a game like this, a physical game, a grind-out game," Anthony said. "We knew it would come down to the end, where we would have to bunker down and make plays down the stretch."

Anthony led a long-range shooting barrage with USA hitting 17 three-pointers to Australia's seven, a difference that accounted for the final 10-point margin.

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Ryan Broekhoff (right) fends off his opponents (Rio 2016/Miriam Jeske)

USA's ability to play small forwards Anthony and Kevin Durant at the same time helped them space the floor and draw bigger and less mobile defenders such as Aron Baynes reluctantly out to the perimeter to guard Anthony.

"Nobody can guard him, especially the big guys," said Durant, who had a relatively quiet night with 14 points on 4/16 shooting.

Kudos to the Australians

USA coach Mike Krzyzewski called Australia a "heck of a team" and said there will be no easy games left for his team at Rio 2016 after their first two blowout wins against China and Venezuela.

"This is the real world now," Krzyzewski said. "Carmelo was magnificent, we earned the win, and we are going to have to earn the wins throughout."

Earlier on Wednesday, San Antonio Spurs National Basketball Association (NBA) star Tony Parker hit the game-winning shot with 31 seconds remaining to lift France to a thrilling 76-75 win over Serbia.

After a slow start to Rio 2016, including a 21-point loss to Australia in their first game, France are beginning to resemble medal contenders they were expected to be when the tournament began.

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In the last game of the day, Venezuela recorded their first win of the tournament with a 72-68 victory over China.

Anthony's Olympic legacy

Anthony, 32, first passed David Robinson (USA, 270 points) and then LeBron James (USA, 273 points) on Wednesday to earn the honour at his fourth Olympic Games. He now has 293 Olympic points.